In today’s fast-paced digital economy, universities aren’t just places for academic knowledge — they’re launchpads for ideas that can shape the future. At TalTech’s School of Business and Governance (SBG), entrepreneurship is more than just a course. It’s about real experiences, real challenges, and real growth. A great example is Sacha Mairesse, an exchange student from France, who is building his startup Antoo while studying at TalTech SBG and growing connections within Estonia’s vibrant innovation landscape.
An Idea Born From Personal Experience: Antoo
Sacha has always had an entrepreneurial mindset and started experimenting with projects from a young age. Like many early-stage founders, he faced a major challenge: finding the right co-founders. “I often had ideas, but didn’t have the right people to build them with. I realized there wasn’t a truly effective platform for entrepreneurs to find suitable co-founders — that’s how Antoo was born,” says Sacha.
Antoo is a platform designed to connect startup founders with co-founders, mentors, and early adopters. In the future, the team plans to integrate AI to personalize matches and simplify the journey of building a startup.
A Strong Team – The Foundation of Success
Sacha brought the Antoo team together very intentionally. Benjamin, the CMO and also a childhood friend, shares the same vision and startup drive. Maxence, the CTO, came onboard after months of active searching — they met while volunteering at VivaTech and instantly clicked. Jean-Pierre, their mentor, is a seasoned entrepreneur who saw potential in the team and decided to support them with his experience and network. “We have a strong tech lead, a marketing expert, and an experienced mentor – this mix is what allows us to build Antoo and take it to the next level,” says Sacha.
Fast Progress and Early Milestones
Since launching, Antoo has made impressive progress: 200+ early user sign-ups showing clear interest, 15 entrepreneurship associations in France onboard as partners, multiple workshops, events, and podcast features increasing visibility and officially incubated, providing strategic support and guidance. But also expansion into Estonia, with ongoing partnership building among incubators and the startup community
Why Estonia? Why TalTech?
Estonia is globally known as a digital country and startup hotspot. For Sacha, TalTech’s exchange programme was the perfect opportunity to enter this ecosystem. “TalTech has given me a real chance to be part of Tallinn’s startup scene,” he says. “It’s not just about lectures — there are real opportunities, connections, and mentors here.”
His studies and collaboration with local faculty have helped him develop his business thinking and strategic planning. “Thanks to this, Antoo is becoming a part of the Baltic startup ecosystem,” Sacha adds.
Looking Ahead: AI and Global Vision
The next step for Antoo is integrating AI to go beyond matchmaking and become a full entrepreneurial assistant. “We want to help startup founders find the right teammates, test ideas, and grow faster. But first, we’re collecting as much user feedback as possible to find our product-market fit,” Sacha explains.
Admission to TalTech is open to citizens of OECD countries, Georgia, Ukraine and non-EU candidates who are legally resident in Estonia until 1 May and to citizens of EU/EEA countries and Switzerland until 1 June.
Check out the programmes and apply now: taltech.ee/en/school-of-business-and-governance